Visionary Interlude
I'm not too sure how I came up with this one. Now that I think about it, it's kind of like that chess-playing scene from the X-men movie, at the end. It just sort of came about. A while ago, I talked about how TRF doesn't have any grand strategists, like in Lord of the Rings or Star Wars, who match wits using every weapon in the world, and I thought perhaps a chess-game between Regrad and Simon might perhaps create the image of two men in whose hands the galaxy may well rest. Plus, in the future, it could be used as foreshadowing - maybe Regrad will start replaying the chess game in his tower, trying out new strategies before key operations?
I would like to say that it is really, really hard to argue with Simon - because Omnae, the writer, is someone who I greatly trust and think is excellent and has a great sense of the truth of every situation, and he uses that exact logical, sensible tone when writing as Simon on the topic of Empire. I almost want to believe everything Simon says by default, as evidenced by Regrad's drop in spirits.
Unity: Bane of the Empire
I have a tonne and a half of respect for the union's roleplayers - they do something new, innovative, and isn't tied down to the ole' fleeting and planets game. They might use them, sure, but they're a real creative bunch, and its' threads like these that really stand out at TRF.
Visionary Episode Three: dance to the drums of war
I really went into the last war half-assed and completely unprepared for what a war would be like. This time I wanted to be at 100% ass, not settling for any mere half-ass, so I thought the best way to do that was to have a thread that would segue the Coalition at Peace into the Coalition at War. It serves to explain just how the shift frome one to the other took place, and what that means. Heir jumping in there without asking was a bit of a shock, but it went smoothly, so I'm happy.
I would like to say that a great deal of the actual tactical stuff mentioned (of which there is little) is completely wrong. The Jedi aren't really coming, a number of the ships we planned to use are unavailable, a lot of what I thought I knew about the Black Dragons is wrong - enjoy it, if you read it, but don't actually use it as a source of info on how the war is progressing now. It's really true, no plan survives first contact with the enemy.
Ascendancy
Ahnk is right. Everything that Seth touches turns to gold. And
chocolate. This is because long ago he found the hand of midas, that promised him everything he touched would turn gold, and he said "
f*ck that, I get chocolate too, or I go home." And he got it. Because he is Seth.
In a more serious light, I think it's an interesting read because it shows that even though Seth isn't conquering worlds or annihilating races every day, he's still working behind the scenes and making ripples that could one day turn into might tidal waves.
Ghost Ship
I hadn't heard of this until the showcase - which is a surprise, because Simon shares Seth's gold-and-chocolate power. I'm getting into it now, though, and finding it up to the usual professional standards of its' author. Haven't gotten to the end of the thread yet, but good stuff. It really goes to show that when you're the undisputed Master of the Galaxy, you can write about whatever you want, when you want it. If Simon decided tomorrow he wanted to write a story about the tomatoes of Azguard coming alive and devouring their Azguardian tenders, decimating the population forever, I would be honored that he remembered the tomatoes.
